The subject matter disclosed herein relates to inflation systems, and more particularly, to a system and a method for inflating an emergency evacuation device.
Typically, inflatable evacuation devices such as floats, slides, and rafts are utilized to provide for aircraft occupant evacuations. Inflatable evacuation devices often utilize inflation systems to allow for the devices to be stored in a packed state and then rapidly inflated in emergency situations. Often, inflation systems utilized in inflatable evacuation devices can leak over time, causing pack growth and pack drop. Leakage from the inflation systems into the packed inflatable evacuation device requires the replacement of the inflatable evacuation devices.
In more detail, pneumatic inflation system use high pressure stored gas, which needs to be discharged within specified time by the opening of a normally closed inflation valve. Typically, inflation valves are flow isolation valves actuated either by manual or electrical triggering. In operation, the inflation valve isolates the high pressure stored gas from the downstream inflatable pack. In the in-service conditions, the stored high pressure gas is effective up to the valve primary sealing, blocking the inlet-outlet flow path. The fluid leakage through this seal can be less than desirable. For instance, leaked gas flows down to the downstream inflatable if it is not vented leading to the aforementioned pack growth. Venting of this leaked gas to external ambient requires additional components which adds system complexity. Pack growth and drop both call for the replacement and maintenance of the inflatable pack assembly. This can lead to the inadvertent inflation and deployment in some instances.